Troy Aikman Calls XFL 'Fantastic' and Says Which XFL Rules Would Translate Well Into the NFL

Troy Aikman is a Hall of Fame quarterback who won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, and he has called six Super Bowls as a booth analyst for Fox. He watched his first XFL game in person on Sunday night when he saw the Dallas Renegades play the St. Louis BattleHawks at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Aikman was interviewed by ESPN on the sideline during the first half, and he called the game "fantastic." He also liked some of the rules XFL has implemented, and Aikman said some of them would fit into the NFL's playbook.

He also said it's good to have football during the NFL and college offseason.

"I think it's great. It's exciting to have football here, you know, after the NFL season," said Aikman, who called Super Bowl LIV a week ago in Miami. "I watched some of the games [Saturday] and come out here to support my friend [Dallas Renegades GM] Daryl "Moose" Johnston and his team, the Renegades, but it's been fantastic."

The XFL designed some of its rules to make the game more fast-paced—like the 25-second play clock—and to create much higher scores than what professional fans are used to seeing. Fans wanting high-scoring, video game-style scoring may have been disappointed with Sunday's scores. The New York Guardians defeated the Tampa Bay Vipers, 23-3, and the BattleHawks defeated the Renegades, 15-9, in the XFL's final game of the weekend.

Despite the slugfest in Arlington, Aikman said he was impressed by the speed of the game.

"I've learned that it happens all really, really fast," Aikman added, "There's a 25-second play clock, which I love."

Aikman went on to say "the kickoff is interesting" and he thinks the NFL will look at how some of the rules they are hoping to adopt are executed at this level of play.

One of those is transparency of watching officials in the replay booth go over the plays—on national TV—and them communicating back to the referee on the field. Aikman said that's something NFL fans could want.

"It gives the NFL a chance to see how it's adopted here in the XFL, and how it's received and how it works and all those things," Aikman said.

Then there is communication between coaches and the offensive skill players with headset audio. Aikman said it should be expanded to not only the entire offense, but the defense should have the same available advantage.

"I like it," Aikman said. "I would like to see it adopted to all the players. I think it's somewhat of a game changer. I'd like to see the coaches be able to talk to the defensive players—all of them—as well. I don't see any reason necessarily that would be a negative. I think it's a real positive."

"I think this thing's got a real chance," Aikman said.